Terminator: War On The Machines
by Choco Scorpion Bat
Summary: Takes place during Terminator Salvation. John meets a girl named Cameron, who reminds him of Cameron, the female Terminator sent back to the past to protect him. They form a team. But how do you tell your SECOND IN COMMAND you LOVE her?
1. Chapter 1

MY FIRST TERMINATOR FAN FICTION! WOO!

TERMINATOR

WAR ON THE MACHINES

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

My name is Cameron. I am a resistance fighter and John Connor's second-in-command. Most of the human race has been exterminated by cybernetic assassins we call Terminators. During a battle several years ago, a Terminator took my left arm and severely damaged the entire left side of my body, including part of my right side. I lost an eye and part of my face to be reconstructed. I had to have surgery to survive. The doctors made the decision to rebuild my lost and damaged parts with the parts of destroyed Terminators. Sometimes I feel alien. I have faced death on the battlefield more times than I can count, and miraculously lived. I cannot say the same for many of the soldiers who go out there and never return. Many of them are my friends. All of them are heroes incarnate. Some of the Terminators we do manage to take down don't get completely destroyed. If they survive our barrage of bullets, we have John reprogram them to do our bidding, and protect us. The problem with having even a reprogrammed Terminator is that the dogs go crazy. They eventually do calm down to recognize the…."friendly" Terminators from the enemy. I wonder, though, if this war will ever end. And if it does…who will win?

The Terminators kept coming, gleaming and deadly as they marched across the battlefield, eyes red, guns a-blazing. Motors and gears whirred as the skeletal cyborgs advanced on the human army. The killer robots stepped on and crushed anything in their way. John Connor led the resistance force, fearlessly leading his army into battle. He stared grimly, standing motionless as his forces charged against the machines. Smoke billowed into the sky, and a torn, charred, dirty American flag billowed behind him, as he stood amid the carnage purposefully, unflinching. He reached behind him and pulled a high powered machine gun out. He cocked and readied the weapon, and stepped into the battle. Almost immediately, a Terminator attacked him. The skeletal killer raised its right arm high, as if it was preparing to karate chop him, and swung it down. John blocked it with his own arm just in time, crying out in pain as he heard bones crack. The Terminator's skull showed no emotion, but it seemed to grin in evil pleasure. That made John very mad, and he gathered his resolve. He sucked in a breath and attempted to push the pain back. John made to pick up his fallen gun. The Terminator swiveled its head to see what he was doing, and registered the fallen weapon on the ground. It lifted its foot and crushed the machine gun before John could grab it. John looked up at the machine in surprise, and had no time to defend himself as it picked him up. It brought him face level and stared at him. The glowing red eyes of the T-1 seemed to bore straight into John.

"Terminate John Connor," it said, and released one arm. It swung the arm back, preparing to smash his face in. John flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for it to end. It never came. He opened his eyes and was falling. He slammed into the ground with a grunt, and squealed in pain as he landed on his bad arm. This time, he heard a snap as the already cracked humerus snapped in two. He squeezed back tears of pain as he stood up, unsteady and dizzy with the intense pain. The Terminator had redirected its attention to his savior. He heard and saw bullets pinging off of the metal Satan. The person firing was a woman. She had an intensity in her eyes that surprised John. She gritted her teeth, and kept the trigger pulled, firing round after round at the Terminator. The pain in John's arm burned hard, but he kept his attention focused on the woman. The gun clicked. It was out of ammo! The young woman gasped and backed up, searching the area for a weapon, any weapon. She glanced to the left and saw salvation: a fully loaded shotgun. It was a Mk 6 high powered multi-shot blaster. Capable of blowing apart steel. She rolled and dodged an attack, grabbing the weapon. She cocked the shotgun and fired. The blast made John's ears ring in the close proximity. The Terminator's head spun around several times before stopping, facing the opposite direction than the one it was supposed to. The machine of death had stopped moving. John and the young woman held their breath in anticipation as they waited for the result. The battle raged around them. Then, jerkily, erratically, the head slowly swiveled to face them. Servos whirred, electric blue sparks flew, and wiring stuck out. The head was uneven with the body, sticking out to side in a lopsided manner. The killer stuck out an arm and advanced. It repeated the same message over and over again.

"Terminate human resistance-tance-tance. Ter-Terminate hum-ma-ma-man r-r-r-resistance."

It was halfway to the young woman before John found a weapon. He loaded an RPG with a shell and aimed. He had to get this shot just right, or the woman was dead.

"Die, you stupid can!" he said, and fired. The shell hit the Terminator in the chest and exploded. The young girl squealed in a high pitch and shielded herself from the blast. John looked on, unflinching. When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a pair of standing metal legs. The young woman slowly unshielded herself and found the skull staring at her. The eyes still glowed red. She screamed and the eyes dimmed to nothing. John laughed and walked over to her. He offered his hand and she took it. She had a very strong grip. She hoisted herself up and John got his first really good look at her. He studied her. She had a great form, but the feature that got him was her face. She was beautiful. She had light brown hair and hazel eyes that had a fire in them. She captivated John in a way that no other girl had before. He got a hold on himself.

"What's your name, soldier?" he asked. She lifted her chin.

"Cameron," she said. Cameron. That brought back a whirl of memories. Cameron. A Terminator named Cameron had been sent back in time to protect him. He had fallen…No. It was painful to think about. And it wouldn't have worked anyway. A sudden explosion wrenched him to the real world in one, sudden, deafening blast. The Hunter-Killer squads flew over the smoking battlefield, picking off their targets. The laser beams seared the air and took out multiple groups. Robotic arms grabbed soldiers and civilians, and pulled them screaming to their deaths. And on top of that, the waves of T-1s, T-100s, T-800s, and more kept on coming. The battle was lost. John had to face it. A laser cracked the ground a little too close to where he and Cameron were standing. The world shook. John regained his balance, and held an arm out to steady Cameron. Smoke blocked their view of the battle. All they could see were lasers and explosions, and the shadows of soldiers. Out of the darkness came A T-101. The smoke encased its gleaming metal body, and faded into wisps as it advanced. It carried two pistols. John moved to defend Cameron. The T-101 grabbed John by the throat and squeezed. John felt his trachea being crushed. He attempted to throw his attacker away, but failed. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and the Terminator threw him to the side. John's limp body skidded in the dirt and debris before stopping at the base of a Jeep. The Terminator advanced on Cameron, who was defenseless, her gun being lost in the laser attack…

HECK YEAH! TELL ME HOW THAT WAS!


	2. Chapter 2

For those of you who read Chapter One, this is for you! For those of you who reviewed, YOU ROCK! Those of you who didn't, DO IT! This chapter details how Cameron got her injuries, so it may be disturbing to some of you weaker readers. But it won't be so graphic as to make it M.

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

Chapter Two

The Terminator kept advancing. Cameron looked around her for something to defend herself with. There was nothing. NOTHING! She felt like crying. Surrounded by carnage, death, destruction. A Terminator advancing on her. Her Commander unconscious, possibly dead. This looked like the end. The tears came. Out of the black smoke and flames came another Terminator. She didn't notice. It grabbed her. She struggled to break free. It was futile. The other Terminator punched her in the jaw. She heard it crack. It was broken. The machine socked her in the stomach, making her double over. It did it again, this time harder. Cameron coughed up blood. The T-101 holding her threw her to the ground with brute force. She drew in a rattled breath, gasping as it put a foot to her back and pushed her down. She saw John laying in the dirt about a hundred yards from her. He seemed to be lifeless. The tears stained her cheeks and made small puddles in the earth. A small, green shoot appeared as her tears wore away the ground before her. It was tiny, insignificant in every possible way. She felt her arm snap as the Terminator brought its foot down hard. She cried out in pain. It brought it down again, and her arm shattered. The tears blurred her vision. The pain, oh, the pain! She was on fire. John swam in her vision. She tried to reach out to him, but her arm didn't respond. Useless! The pressure on her back lifted, and she attempted to crawl to him. She couldn't. The fire consumed her.

The Terminator reached down and grabbed her hair, and yanked. Cameron screamed as hairs were pulled from her scalp. The assassins slammed her into the metal wreckage of a Hunter-Killer. Now Cameron's head was on fire. She saw stars. She tried to gasp, but her throat was being squeezed. The pressure eased up a bit, and she drew in air, only to have it knocked out of her from a hard punch to the side. Cameron felt her ribs snap. Another punch. Another snapped rib. Blood filled her mouth and she weakly spit it out. It ran down her chin, neck, and chest. The Terminator dropped her. She fell to her knees, and slowly slumped to the ground. John. That was all she thought about before the world disappeared into black nothingness.

John lay there, his head throbbing. His arm burned. He moaned, and sat up. His gun was in pieces. Crap. He looked around for the Terminators. They were, thank God in heaven, gone. Where was Cameron?

"Cameron?" he called. "Cameron? Ca-"

There she was. Near the Hunter-Killer. On the ground. Not moving. Fear enveloped him. John ran to her as fast as he could with his injuries. He stopped next to her and knelt. Good Lord! His arm burned something terrible, but that didn't matter, not now. What mattered was that Cameron needed drastic medical attention. He looked her over, trying to find a place to pick her up. He couldn't one. He put two fingers to her neck, trying to find a pulse. It was barely crawling along. It was enough. An explosion rocked the world. John shouted and ducked, looking around jumpily.

"Come on, Cameron1 let's get out of here!" He put an arm under the neck of her vest and began to drag her to safety. Suddenly, the two Terminators appeared from behind the Hunter-Killer. John gave a frantic yelp and moved faster. The Terminators moved at a leisurely pace, in no hurry. John sped up. He looked behind him. Almost there. The Jeep was just behind them. He looked back at the killer machines. They were closer. He slammed into the Jeep. John quickly opened the passenger door and heaved Cameron in as best he could. His arm stung. He shut the door and was immediately grabbed. He turned around and was met with two red eyes directly in his face. The gleaming skull grinned at him.

"You are terminated, John Connor!" it said, and slammed him into the metal car. The impact brought stars to his eyes. The Terminator let him go. The two machines had their attention diverted to another disturbance. John took his chance and leapt onto the back of the Jeep, behind the machine gun. He fired the gun at the Terminator to the right, pelting it with bullets. The machine jerked around.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" John screamed. Shells flew as the bullets sped to their target. The Terminator's torso got ripped apart by the barrage. It fell to ground as John was firing at the other Terminator. Bullets whizzed and pinged. John heard a click and the bullets quit flying. The Terminator lowered his head in a menacing manner. "Uh oh," John said. He clambered over the bars of the rear of the Jeep into the driver's seat and turned the key of the ignition. It didn't start. The engine whined and sputtered as John continued to try. He heard the sound of servos and gears moving and felt his heart going a hundred miles. The Terminator grabbed the rear of the Jeep with both hands, leaving an indentation. It picked it up easily and slammed it down hard. John hit his head on the windshield. He got down to hotwire the engine just as a plasma burst arced overhead. He ripped out the wiring and found the correct ones. He carefully put the copper ends together, creating little sparks.

"Come on, come on!" he said through his teeth. The engine finally revved. He pushed his hand on the pedal just as the Terminator grabbed on. He got into the seat and sped, swerving to try and throw the robot off. He drove into the battlefield, ducking repeatedly to avoid rounds of fire. The Terminator in the rear had almost reached him. John looked at the floor of the passenger side and a gun. It was loaded and cocked. He grabbed it, veering to the right to avoid hitting a resistance fighter. He aimed at the eye and fired. It blew out, and the machine staggered. John took the chance and spun the vehicle around, finally throwing the Terminator out. It smashed into the ground and John sped towards it. The cyborgs had barely gotten to its knees before John ran over it, tearing it to pieces. The skull rolled to the feet of a resistance fighter. He looked at the dimming eyes and up at the speeding Jeep.

"Damn!"

**Resistance Base**

John cut the engine and gently picked up Cameron. He hurried to the elevator that led to the emergency chamber further below ground. Resistance fighters stared. He ignored them. When he reached the doors to the lift, he punched the down button hard. The grinding of gears told him it was coming. Too long! He mashed the button again. The doors finally opened and he stepped inside. The doors ground closed and the lift lowered itself into the depths. John ever so gently lowered Cameron onto the floor and put his fingers to her neck, checking her pulse again. It wasn't moving. He went cold instantly. The lift ground to a halt and the doors opened. Resistance fighters were everywhere. John picked up Cameron and hurried out.

"Medic!" he screamed. "I need a medic!"

Several fighters hurried to his side. They had the medic insignia on their uniforms. Their names were (respectively, and by gender), Jane, Houston, Carlos, Kiyoko, and Danish. Danish took her pulse and nodded to the other medics. They took Cameron from John and hurried an empty table, and laid Cameron down. John hurriedly joined them. He was jittery, and sweating. His arm now stung sharply again. He winced and held it. A medic noticed. John shook his head. The medic went back to work on his patient. John focused on Cameron's surgery. Kiyoko brought the overhead lamp closer to Cameron's damaged eye. It was beyond repair. They began work.


	3. Chapter 3

In this chapter, you faithful readers get to read how Cam gets… repaired, we'll say. More Terminator destroying action!

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

Chapter Three

John paced around, a nervous wreck, as the medics continued their delicate procedure on Cameron. He looked up frequently, wanting to check on her, then thought against it, and continued his frantic pacing. Small pulses of blue light popped around as they welded metal on metal, and attached skin and tissue to the parts. Even from here, John smelled the slight odor of burnt flesh as they seared it together. Kiyoko picked up a pair of pliers and crushed two copper wires together. To her left, Danish, who had a wrench in hand, was adjusting a bolt in Cameron's new kneecap. Smoke wisped into the air as sparks flew from the welders. John looked over at them, working diligently to save her life. They had made the decision to use salvaged Terminator parts to use on her. They had already replaced Cameron's left eye, so she would see half in infrared, and half in the normal spectrum. She would have an HUD processor core buried inside it as well. They covered her ribcage with the last bit of synthesized flesh and put away the welder. John moved closer, but Carlos put up a hand to stop him.

He complied. Kiyoko nodded at Jane and Houston, and they finished work on her eye. It glowed a deep, deceptive red as it powered on. Houston picked up a pair of forceps and Jane an eye covering and a permanent contact lens. She used a pair of forceps to place the covering in and welded the edges of the contact in, then nodded at Houston to put in the delicate iris. He bent over and, gently, ever so gently, he put in the chocolate colored iris that would complete the delicate procedure. The iris molded to fit the shape perfectly. It was done.

"Now can I see her?" John asked. Houston looked over at John.

"Now you can see her," he said. John rushed over to her side and looked at her repaired body. She had no garments to cover her repaired flesh and limbs, so as not to damage any more parts. They might have compromised the operation by accidentally being welded to her already broken body. So, as a result, she was stark naked. But John didn't care. They had saved her. He would be eternally grateful. She moaned and turned her head to the side. John thought that single sound was the most glorious sound ever uttered at this moment. Then, he had a revelation: he was in love.

Yeah, I know it was super short, but I ran out of ideas for this chapter. SORRY! DON'T BASH ME! PLEASE DON'T! I'll make up for it by giving Chapter 4 fifteen paragraphs! And I'll make them LONG!


	4. Chapter 4

Cameron gets to try out her new parts! More Terminator destroying action!

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

Chapter Four

Cameron moaned again and raised a hand. John just barely heard the soft, smooth whir of servos and motors. Cameron whispered something.

"John. John," she said. John. She had whispered his name. He grasped her hand, and was surprised by the warmth that it emanated. Flesh, blood, and muscle covered the mechanical parts he knew were inside. He knew not how she survived, nor did he care, but he thanked God. There must be a God, he had decided. She whispered his name again and her hand slumped. John felt his heart flutter as her impossibly soft flesh slid down his hand, then wrist to lightly touch down on her naked body. He felt at peace sitting there, watching her rest. The doctors had done their work well. He turned his head to face Carlos.

"When will she be discharged?" he asked. Carlos pondered the question for a moment before responding.

"Tomorrow, if she is well enough. Two days at best."

"Hmm," was the response. John took at final look at Cameron's sleeping form. "Cover her."

Jane brought a sheet and covered Cameron's naked body. John nodded in approval and left the medical chamber. The soft whir of motors hummed in the elevator as he went up. Suddenly, the elevator shook and a dull thunder resounded inside the shaft. John stumbled and regained his balance. He brought his radio to his mouth and pressed the button.

"What in the name of my mother's mismatched socks was that?" he yelled. The voice of Marcus Wright spoke back.

"T-600s, sir! They've launched an all out attack on Command! They're destroying everything!"

John felt cold. Everything. The doors opened to give him a view of total destruction. Fires were spread about. Resistance fighters were trying to defend what was left. Many were dead. John sought out Marcus. He found him, fighting a T-600 with his bare fists. Marcus plunged his arm right through the Terminator and ripped the machine in two like a rag doll. Sparks emanated from the destroyed machine. Marcus spied John and ran to him.

"What do we do?" he said.

John thought and grabbed an assault rifle.

"What do we do? We kick these metal sons of bitches asses back to Hell!"

"Hell yeah!" Marcus jovially agreed. They thumped fists and stepped into the fray. Terminators were all over the place. They were throwing things, smashing objects, and beating things down. Others were attacking Resistance fighters and vehicles. John saw a T-860 lift an four wheel drive off the ground and toss it at the wall, where it crumpled and exploded. He fired at the nearest one. The T-800 turned its attention to John and Marcus and attacked. It threw itself (literally) at John and was impeded by Marcus's defensive counter-maneuver. The two clashed and flew ten feet backwards. A barrel was knocked away as Marcus spun the Terminator around like a rope lasso. He released the cyborg and sent it flying to a concrete pillar. The pole cracked and buckled, but didn't collapse. John, sure that Marcus could handle himself, pushed on into the battle.

**Medic Chamber**

Oblivious to the assault on the base, medics continued their delicate work on the wounded. The elevator groaned to a stop, and the doors opened to reveal a panicked Resistance fighter. He stumbled out, covered in sweat and blood and dirt. He was stammering and babbling like an idiot.

"Run! Evacuate1 Terminators!" he wheezed. An arm suddenly burst through his torso and he screamed. The flesh colored arm molded into a Terminatrix arm. Steel and chromium alloy molded together to create an almost indestructible killing machine, capable of mimicking any creature it touches. This T-X, in particular, was mimicking a particularly pretty woman with brown hair and certain chocolate eyes….

The Terminatrix slide her arm out of the gutted fighter and moved forward to the panic stricken medics. They were attempting to evacuate the confused facility. The T-X grabbed a medic, and snapped his neck with ease. He stopped screaming. She threw his body into a wall, and he slid down to the floor. She pulled a Glock from her curvy waist and fired a single shot to the back of the head of a woman. She gasped, but did not die immediately. She stopped by her side. The T-X leaned in to her ear, half closed her eyes, and whispered seductively.

"Where is John Connor?" she whispered. "Cameron" put the muzzle of the Glock to the back of the paralyzed woman's head and cocked it. She licked her ear in a sensual manner and felt a terrified shudder ripple through the woman's body. She registered high levels of heat and pheromones in the woman's body. She licked her ear again. "You are of no help to me."

She pulled the trigger. Blood and brain matter sprayed her as she moved on, her hips swaying. No matter, she knew anyway. She was halfway to the door at the other end of the chamber when a shape knocked her out of the way. It was Cameron! Cameron smashed her hand into the chest of the Terminatrix with enough force to kill a normal human. The most it did was make a dent in the left breast of the T-X. The Terminatrix growled in fury and tossed the girl off. Cameron hit the wall with a grunt of pain. Her HUD indicated that the T-X possessed considerably more strength. readouts scrolled across, but Cameron ignored them. These people were in danger, and she was going to protect them. She felt the gears whine as she prepared to throw a punch to the T-X's head. The Terminatix caught the blow and gave one of her own to Cameron's stomach. Without anything to protect her naked flesh, the blow caused more damage than she would have liked. at least she didn't throw up any blood. The Terminatrix tossed Cameron onto a bed and grabbed a scapel. She jumped on top of Cameron's prone and naked body, and kneeled down. Naked flesh was much easier to slice into than garments. She crawled on top of her to her chest, and raised the knife. Danger messages whizzed across Cameron's HUD. She could do nothing to defend herself; the T-z had her knees on her elbows, and her arm on her throat. She was as good as dead.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, if this particular chapter confuses you, SORRY! Just read EVERY PART OF IT AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

Chapter Five

John did not know how he ended up on the ground, but from the burn marks on his body, he suggested explosion. His head hurt like crap, and the bandages on his arm he had applied became loose, resulting in a sharp sting. He tried to sit up, but a T-890 put a foot on his chest. It had a machinegun in hand. John turned his head to the left and saw his gun. He swore angrily. The Terminator looked down at him.

"You are terminated!" it said. It raised the weapon, about to spray his head into soup. Then, its head exploded. The neck smoked and the beheaded cyborg keeled over. John looked at it in surprise, then laid his head back, breathing deeply after the pressure was lifted. Marcus helped him up.

"Come with me if you want to live," he said. John was about to say something, then he froze.

The truck ran the Terminator over and screeched to a stop in front of a terrified John. The passenger door opened, and Cameron leaned over.

"Come with me if you want to live," she said. John stared at her for a moment, then hastily got up and sat in the passenger seat of the Dodge. He didn't even bother to dust himself off. Cameron revved the engine and sped away.

Marcus was shaking John and hitting him in the face. John's eyes focused and he blinked several times.

"Huh? What?" he said.

"Dude! Come on! We gotta leave this joint!" Marcus was yelling. John grabbed a hand to keep him from hitting him again.

"Then stop hitting me!" he said.

**Medic Chamber**

Cameron gave a huge push, and the Terminatrix flew off of her naked body. It smashed into the far wall, knocking out wires and a processor unit. The computers in the room all went dead. The T-X grabbed a fistful of electrical wiring and stabbed them into Cameron's side. The electricity traveled up her body, shocking her. She screamed and went rigid as her binary systems began to go offline. She couldn't move her arm, and her leg wouldn't respond. Her heart seemed skip several beats. The HUD display in her eye was starting to show a million grains of static, and jumped around. Error messages and danger alerts filled her vision. Then it stopped. She slumped. The T-X threw a powerful punch and hit her jaw. Cameron spun and hit the desk. The Terminator walked towards her, hips swaying, breasts bouncing. A mimic of Cameron. A mimic that also made her very angry. Cameron saw a computer next to her and grabbed it. She smashed it into the Terminatrix's head with all the power she could muster. The monitor shattered. Cameron drew back her arm and punched the killing machine in the face with all the strength she had. The fist went right through. Cameron felt her fingers close around the main processor unit. She stared coldly at the machine.

"Die, bitch."

She yanked the chip out and crushed it. The dead machine fell backwards. Cameron stared at it in hate. She scattered the pieces and left the machine.

**Resistance Base Perimeter**

John stumbled out onto the field surrounding the perimeter to be met with more violence and explosions. Large craters littered the perimeter and produced great quantities of smoke. Another Earth-shattering boom knocked John to his back, leaving him dazed and thoroughly confused. He could not make out the surroundings.

Cameron stopped the Dodge, and stepped out. They needed more fuel. Sarah went into the gas station to get some food. Cameron registered John stepping out of her truck as the meter went up. $10.00. $13.45. John rested his seat on the flatbed of the Dodge, and proceeded to munch on some Mr. Crunches. They tasted salty. Cameron put the pump away and stood by him. John let his gaze drop to her legs, which were long…He tore his eyes away.

"What model are you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she responded.

"You're…different, somehow."

She took a chip. "I am different," she said, and walked away, hips swaying.

"JOHN! JOHN! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU!"

He was wrenched back to the reality of the present in one violent moment. The dull roar of multiple explosions filled his ears. He dimly saw stragglers ruthlessly taken down by the Terminators. Dull gunfire resounded throughout the battlefield. Grenades were tossed and blew up, sending fragments every which way. John unsteadily got to his feet, trying to get away from the carnage. The woods were just up ahead. Marcus roughly helped him.

"What the hell's the matter with you, Connor? You need assistance?" he asked.

Connor shook his head. "I'm fine."

Marcus looked at him warily. "You better be."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry to those of you who got confused. I will be sure to separate thoughts of the past from the present from now on. The story calms down a little in this chapter. For those of you who are wondering who the Cameron of John's thoughts are, she is the Terminator sent back to protect him in The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

THE RESISTANCE CHRONICLES

Chapter Six

John was having a coughing fit by the time they managed to reach the forest. He and Marcus stood by each other's side and surveyed the destruction with grim faces. Smoke rose in black pillars, and mini-explosions erupted everywhere. Fires stretched across the land. Terminators were killing what remained of the Resistance who did not manage to escape in time. Those who did stumbled up the hill or hid in the forest. John felt pity and great sorrow. He suddenly felt fear for Cameron. Did she manage to escape? He realized that she might not have; she was located in the lowest reaches of the base. No doors led to the outside from below. Only an elevator. A sudden mega-explosion happened. The base was obliterated, the sky turned red and orange, and heat burned John's flesh. He squinted and it was over. The fallout began. Debris rained down from the clouds, and touched down everywhere. John felt despair. Cameron was gone. He took a last look and trudged up the hill. Marcus followed him. He caught up and touched his shoulder.

"Maybe she survived," he suggested, even though he didn't believe it. Nothing except a Terminator could have possibly survived a blast like that. John gave him a forlorn look. It was full of sorrow.

"Yeah. Maybe," he said dejectedly. He pulled away from Marcus's grasp. He didn't resist or try to hold on. He could have, but he didn't. Not now. Marcus sighed.

That night, they lit a fire deep in the forest and set up a campsite. Marcus had killed a rabbit with his bare fists, which was now roasting. John stared absently into the orange tongues of flame. Marcus felt a deep pity for his friend. John had lost everything, and gave up all for the Resistance. His mother had died of leukemia, his father had died of a Terminator's hand, his friends died everyday in battle, and, as far as he knew, his girlfriend had been killed in Judgment Day. Now, this. Marcus sighed deeply. Crickets started their chirping songs. They sat in silence for several more minutes. John got up.

"I'll be back," he said. Marcus nodded slightly. John left the fire and was swallowed by the darkness. Marcus turned the cooking rabbit slightly. It was too black on the side. A little more. There.

When Marcus was far enough out of earshot, John stopped. He started to sob. For himself, for his friends, for his loyal followers, for…Cameron. For every damn thing in the whole damn world. He squeezed his eyes shut and the tears flowed down his cheeks. He leaned forward and rested his arm on an oak. He drew a shuddered breath and continued to let out his pent up feelings. He sobbed, and his shoulders shook. Why did everything have to happen to him? His mother, his father whom he never knew, his friends, his dog when he was five, his girlfriend. He slid to his knees. He had not cried in over fifteen years. He was trained to keep these feelings inside. But now they flowed out, unstoppable, free, fast. He punched the tree, and bled. He did it again. And again. And finally felt good. He did it again with his other fist. And again. And again. He opened his fists, and they stung. The blood was dark and fresh. He put his shaking hands on his wet face, and felt the warm blood and plasma on his cheeks. He shuddered, and breathed erratically. A twig snapped. He ignored it. Who cared anyway? The war was lost. He had given up. They had been fighting for over thirteen years. It was over. Humanity had lost. The leaves and twigs rustled as the figure drew closer. It had red eyes. John finally spun around and saw the glowing eyes.

"DAMMIT!" he shouted. He drew back his fist and prepared to deliver a blow. A hand caught it. The chromium metal glinted in the moonlight. Chromium metal with impossibly soft flesh…

John gasped and looked at the face. Cameron. It was Cameron. She stepped forward and her naked body looked beautiful in the moon. He focused on her battered but otherwise okay face. He drew in a staggered breath and raised his bloody hands. She stepped forward and he kissed her. He felt peace and elation in that kiss. He didn't care about the fact that she was half metal. That metal touch brought peace, happiness, and calm to him. Cameron closed her eyes as John kept the tender moment going. So, this was what joy felt like. Tasted like. It was a sweet, tender moment for both of them.

Staying in the shadows, Marcus watched the exchange in silence. He smiled to himself, and left. He was happy for John. He had finally found his peace. Lucky bastard.


End file.
